Loans and High Yield

Four borrowers took advantage of a barren US high yield market on Tuesday to price drive by deals, including a second deal in the past two weeks from offshore drilling company Transocean.

HSBC has hired two bankers, one from Credit Suisse and one from UBS, to strengthen its business with private equity firms and in offering leveraged financing.

Ronshine China Holdings reopened a 2021 bond on Tuesday, adding $225m to a three year puttable line sealed in January this year. The deal is the latest in a series of capital raising exercises designed to ease the firm’s refinancing burden.

Indian business process outsourcing company Aegis has closed a $150m leveraged buyout loan after a seven-month syndication process that attracted only three participants.

Norwegian car parts manufacturer Kongsberg Automotive is refinancing loans in the high yield market with a deal that offers investors the biggest double-B coupon seen since April.

Specialty chemicals distributor Azelis offered a €1bn loan deal to fund its acquisition by EQT this week. It has pre-placed almost half of it amid widening margins in the European leveraged loan market.

VFS Global, a tech services specialist for governments across the world, is reducing the cost of its subordinated debt by increasing the size of its term loans ‘B’ to pay down more expensive second lien loans.

Canvest Environmental Protection Group Company has increased its latest offshore borrowing to HK$1.409bn ($180m).

The quality of Asian high yield bond covenants dropped to an all-time low in the last quarter. Chinese property developers, making the most of a buoyant market, have been cited as the biggest cause. But as the region’s primary bond market continues to struggle, it’s unclear if that push for looser standards can continue.

Powerlong Real Estate Holdings has closed a $305m offshore loan with three lenders.

Low cost telecoms group Lebara has delayed its plans for a redemption of its only bond from early July to August, the latest setback in its already long list of communication and disclosure failures.

Digital payment company Nets has agreed a €515m financing package, as the private equity owned Nordic company prepares to merge with Germany’s Concardis Payment and buy Poland’s Dotpay.